


So close to magic

by frikdreina



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Not Beta Read, Slow Burn, Swearing, Underage Character(s), ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 15:52:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17604323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frikdreina/pseuds/frikdreina
Summary: There was this new girl in his D.A.D.A. class, which turned out to be sorted into Slytherin, just like him - Emori something, he couldn’t get her full name. And it didn’t matter anyway, because her first name was already circled and underlined in red in his ‘enemy book’.





	So close to magic

John Murphy was actually good at something. No, not just something, his favorite class. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his thing, what he excelled at and stood out. Some students said that was because he was like a son to the witch teaching it, others said it was because he had too much darkness inside him, which actually helped him understand how to defeat it. To him, they were all just jealous and resentful because he was no longer a complete waste to the wizarding world.

The other classes he took, though, were hard to endure.

Astronomy? _Why on Earth would someone want to name stars?_

Herbology? _So plants could either heal you or kill you, whatever._

Charms? _Wow, how splendid it was to make a book fly. Impressive._

Flying? _Why brooms when you could have a flying car?_

History of Magic? _So that happened. Next._

Potions? _Not cool when your caldron exploded on your face._

Transfiguration? _Why the hell would someone want to turn themselves into a rat? That was just bizarre._

According to professor Jaha, it was impossible to become an ordinary wizard without going through all mandatory classes, so John put his game face on, sighing and rolling his eyes in every damn one, always looking forward to his favorite class.

Until one day, he wasn’t the best anymore. There was this new girl in his D.A.D.A. class, which turned out to be sorted into Slytherin, just like him - Emori something, he couldn’t get her full name. And it didn’t matter anyway, because her first name was already circled and underlined in red in his ‘enemy book’.

The remarkable girl who stole his number one spot had transferred from France, the iconic Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, he had learned from one of the chatty girls in History of Magic - not that he was eavesdropping or anything because he wasn’t, and he didn’t give a damn about the smartass in his favorite class. On a different day, he accidentally heard them say something about her being a muggle-born, except they didn’t use such an acceptable word for him to repeat in his mind. They also mentioned something about a stain, which made no sense to him at all.

The first day he felt like turning her into a rat or something was no other than during practice. Abby had just taught them how to perform a Patronus spell, a very powerful and highly advanced charm, conjured with a happy memory to protect one from Dementors.

He had his wand in hand, ready to give it a try when a glowy orange fox ran playfully around the room until she reached him, the blinding orange light circling his body.

“Good job, Emori!” He heard the professor exclaim.

Rage and disappointment built up in him, and if he could burn her with his gaze, he would. Except when he looked at her, she held a brilliant smile on her fleshy lips, brighter than the outline of her Patronus. Her eyes met his and defiance colored her face, her chin slightly tilted up as in starting an unspoken competition between the two of them. John wasn’t that far from her, and from where he stood, he could see the gold speckles in her chocolate eyes, dancing around in them, adding just another thing to the list of things he hated about her. The cockiness, the way her hair was always in a messy braid, how her eyes sparkled with every kind of magic, the fullness of her lips and how they opened up in the most radiant and captivating smiles he ever saw. He hated all that. And it was not like he was paying attention to her. Or that he thought she was beautiful or smart or so full of herself that it made his knees week. All he cared about was how she had already taken his place in only a month.

John took a deep breath and tried to drain the Emori flood off his brain, focusing on his happiest memories. He thought of his dad during the holidays, decorating their Christmas tree with John sitting on his shoulders, placing the shiny star on the top.

“Expecto Patronum,” he said nonchalantly. Only a light trace of green left his wand, dying a couple seconds later.

In his next memory, he was with his mom, helping her decorate his birthday cake. She laughed and stroked his hair, watching as he tossed sprinkles on top of the fancy chocolate icing.

He raised his voice this next time, trying to say it confidently. “Expecto Patronum!”

Another bolt of light surged from the tip of his wand, circling his body in an unknown form and vanishing a half minute later.

“It’s okay, John,” Abby comforted him, patting him on the back. “Even the highly skilled wizards have a hard time projecting a Patronus sometimes. Just keep trying.”

Maybe his memories weren’t enough, maybe he was never really happy to a point it could protect him from evil. Figured.

A few minutes went by and the class was dismissed. It was a good thing this was the last one he had for the day because then John would finally be left alone in his dorm, only him and the failure he believed he had banished, at least from this one class.

He was so self-absorbed in his own disappointment that he only noticed Emori standing beside him when she rested a hand on his shoulder. Damn him and his lack of focus, making him jump in front of the girl he admired. Rephrasing, despised.

“What do you want?” He asked her, ignoring the fact that she almost made him jump out of his skin and wriggling his shoulder so she dropped her hand.

“I can help you with this one if you want,” she said with the sweetest tone, and somehow, he thought she might have put a spell on him or something because it felt like his bones had liquified.

He swallowed any trace of vulnerability and intimidation she brought out in him and huffed a laugh. “I don’t need your help.”

“If you say so,” she said with a smile, raising her hands in surrender.

John caught a glimpse of her gesture, capturing her small right hand, her slender and delicate fingers contrasting with the long, fused ones of her left. That was the stain people mentioned, it occurred to him. Her left hand was bigger, rough-skinned looking, and her fingers resembled pincers, glued to one another by the knuckles. _Badass hand,_ another thing he added to his list.

By the time he realized he was staring, she tucked her hands inside her long black and green Slytherin cloak, embarrassment staining her face. Emori turned away and raced to the door, not saying another word.

“Wait!” John called after her, and he wouldn’t say but thank God she stopped. She turned on her heels and he moved closer until he was at arm’s length with her. “Let’s say I accept your offer, when would we meet? And where?”

She smiled, moving past how uncomfortable he’d made her feel. “Third floor, secret room, Sunday before dinner.”

“Secret room?”

“Don’t be late,” she said as she floated outside the door, leaving him to marvel after her departure.

_Dammit._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! The next few chapters are already done and I should post them soon.  
> You can reach me on [tumblr](https://hellmori.tumblr.com/) and [tellonym](https://tellonym.me/frikdreina/).


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